It’s a pleasure to introduce to you, the captivating and contrasting creative life of Matthias Blonski. Tune into this reflective read, where Matthias discusses his current projects, his opinion toward bettering the creative industry, and the advice he would give his younger creative self!
Q N°1: Tell us what you do and currently up to!
For the last year or so I’ve been the Group Creative and Events Director for a Bali-based company called “LYD” – they own and operate several well established, and also up-and-coming venues around the island namely; La Brisa, La Favela, Bokashi, and more. We’re expecting some new ventures to pop up around Indonesia, with the next one in Labuan Bajo, Flores!
Even though that keeps me busy, I’m always working on my own projects or helping friends grow and redefine their brands whenever I can.
I tend to be happiest when I create things for myself (not only clients), which has been grounded in Fine Art for the last 10+ years – originating in NYC and now settling in Bali. I also find outlets through making things and products (currently re-building one of my motorcycles, working on some personal branding projects, building property) as well as finding some time to shoot film projects that will hopefully culminate in a book one day.
Q N°2: Where is home for you?
That’s an increasingly difficult question – It used to be New York City without a doubt, housing most of my family and an amazing network of close friends, but now it seems to be split between there and Bali.
I’m not sure if I could stay in Bali forever, but I do see opportunities here that I don’t anywhere else in the world, and that freedom to create almost anything is of course a dream for someone like me. I was originally born in Poland so the possibility is also present to move back to Europe one day as well.
Q N°3: Describe your creative life in 4 words?
Curiosity + Strategy + Empathy = Contrast
I need contrast in everything I do, sometimes highlighting the minimal changes that make subtleties in life or design worth enjoying, or immense contrast from project to project, or personal interaction to interaction. I think life is all about varying levels of contrast, and reflecting on what that means to us.
Q N°4: What advice would you give your younger creative self?
I was incredibly lucky at a young age to be affected by so many amazing people early in my career, but I would have loved to take the plunge even earlier into building a brand for myself or launching products. This feels like such a definitive and finite decision, but honestly anyone can start something and believe in it, and very rarely blossoms from any sort of perfect timing. Every young creative I think can benefit from a little more discipline and belief in themselves.
Q N°5: Was there a moment/ learning curve that dramatically shaped your path as a professional?
I think there are several moments, and I still have them. If being around so many amazing teachers, mentors and believers has taught me anything it’s to strive for empathy – especially creatively; To believe that someone can always teach you something you don’t know, and you can improve or understand more from this. Anyone who is done learning has wasted all they have learned to that point.
I also constantly have moments that get me furious that I didn’t do better, or think of an idea first – sometimes this helps reposition or re-align my path quite drastically.
Q N°6: What’s one thing within your creative industry that could be improved?
I think creative education is not preparing young talents to understand their industry.
Outside of a few programs and educators – the young creatives out of school I meet simply don’t understand the “why” enough, and mediums (like social media) that champion easily and quickly “digestible” content don’t help..
Students leave school not understanding how to think strategically, research properly, or even understand basics like grid design, and we have software constantly pushing faster and easier.
Now with phones and apps, anyone and everyone is a designer, photographer and a creative – hopefully we can guide the younger generation of designers to think differently and ask the right questions.
Thanks for reading Heart to Heart with Matthias Blonski (@matthiasblonski)!
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